1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to gaming systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing the appearance to players of playing an actual poker hand, while playing a game where the actual outcome is predetermined.
2. The Prior Art
Fixed pool games are well known, often forming the basis of many games used by many state and private lotteries. A fixed pool game is one in which a specified amount of money or prizes (the prizes having calculable monetary equivalents) are distributed into a set of individually purchasable and winnable units, where each individual unit has a known cost, and where the set further includes purchasable units having no prize. Thus, the total amount of prizes, the prize distribution (i.e., the number of prizes at each level), and the total return if all individually purchasable units are sold are known at the game""s outset.
The individually purchasable units are typically generated and distributed as tickets. The two most common form of tickets are pull tab tickets, called pulltabs, and scratch-off tickets, called scratchers. Pull tab tickets are typically constructed from paper of various thickness, having two layers. The first layer has some type of indication of the purchasers"" winnings, if any, and the second layer covers the first. The second layer is typically glued to the first layer around three edges, covering the results. The fourth edge typically has a small tab, allowing the purchaser to grab hold of it. The tab, upon being pulled, pulls the layers apart and reveals the purchasers"" winnings, if any. Scratchers use an opaque material that covers portions of the ticket, where the covered portions have the predetermined results on them. The purchaser scrapes off the opaque material, revealing any winnings.
The distribution of the total winnings, coupled with the cost of each individually purchasable unit, is determined by those making up the game. The exact mechanics and mathematics of each game pool depends on the goals of the issuer, including the target play audience (how much to charge per purchasable unit or ticket or play), the desired return on investment, and size of the pool, as well as other considerations as are well known in the art. The tickets (individually purchasable units) for the entire game are then printed and distributed, usually organized into decks with different decks sold to different locations. Players, by purchasing a ticket, are buying one individually purchasable unit from the overall ticket or game event pool.
This is may be referred to as a fixed-pool lottery, meaning there is a fixed pool of tickets (or results) having a predetermined number of winners and losers, and a purchaser takes a chance on getting a winning result by entering the xe2x80x9clotteryxe2x80x9d, meaning taking the chance they will by a winning ticket from the pool.
To make the results more interesting to a player, fixed-pool lottery based games have been recently been displayed in many ways. One particular representation is as a poker hand, attempting to mimic actual poker play.
The player bets a certain amount to play the game. This corresponds to an individually purchasable unit (note that different betting amounts may participate in different fixed-pool lotteries) for the lottery being used. The game will typically get the result of a random drawing from a central server or location having several operating pools. The result is sent back to the game machine. The game machine then represents the results in as a game.
Up to the present time, game machines using fixed-pool lotteries which have attempted to represent the predetermined winning amount by mimicking poker play have had significant limitations. In particular, the prior art machines would present the player with a 5 cards (mimicking a hand), and the player would indicate which cards to hold, where any not held are discarded. If the player is either not a good poker player or is going for long odds, if is likely they will discard cards that were needed to make up the predetermined winning hand.
For example, suppose the predetermined award required the player to end up with a full house and the player""s initial hand had two pair. If the player discards one from pair, leaving three unrelated cards, a full house cannot be created with the new draw. The prior art game overrides the player""s hold choices and discards the xe2x80x9ccorrectxe2x80x9d cards, resulting in a new hand having a full house.
The action of overriding a player""s choices completely ruins the intended purpose of the game, which is to produced the illusion of true poker play. Thus, there is a need to have a game, based on the use of fixed-pool lotteries, that can better mimic true poker play from a player""s perspective.
The present invention discloses a new method and apparatus to allow very realistic display of a fixed-pool game result as a poker hand. Unlike previous games which overrode or restricted a player""s choice of play with respect to some cards in the initial hand, the present invention allows the player to make any play consistent with the rules and allowable interactions of the specific poker-like game being played. In one embodiment using a game play based on five card draw, the allowable interactions are made up of choosing which cards to hold and which to discard.
If a player makes poor decisions, or tries to play a long shot (as if they were playing real poker), the result can be a set of cards that no longer allows the game to represent the predetermined winning amount, regardless of what cards are used to replace those that were discarded. In this case use is made of a special card illustrated on the games display called a match card. The match card is a card that is not part of the player""s hand (the in-hand set of cards) and is under the control of the game. The match card appears to a player like a randomly drawn card originating from another deck, where a bonus is won if the apparently randomly drawn card matches the in-hand card to which it is associated. xe2x80x9cAssociatedxe2x80x9d is explained further below, but means there is one of the in-hand cards that is somehow visually connected to the match card. If the two cards are shown as matching, in a preferred embodiment xe2x80x9cmatchingxe2x80x9d means having the same suit and value, a bonus award is made.
When a player plays their cards such that the already predetermined amount of winnings cannot be shown on the screen, the match card is used by showing a match with one of the in-hand cards, showing a visual association between the two, and then awarding the needed amounts of points (bonus winnings) to create an overall play total equaling the predetermined amount of winnings.
This appears to the player as an extra bonus aspect of the game not associated with the play of a poker hand, thus furthering the appearance of playing real poker.